Summer Hill Monument
The Summer Hill Monument is a 67 meters granite obelisk built between 1826 and 1842 in Charles Town, Sint-Anders Parish to commemorate the Battle of Summer Hill, a conflict during the Invasion of Brunant between Brunanter rebel soldiers and British mercenaries sent by James Carrington, fought there in 1784. It is the very first site along the Discovery Trail. No admission charge applies to it. In 1986, it became the first National Monuments Trust site in Charles Town. In front of the obelisk is a statue in honor of Colonel Prescott Fellowton, a native of Sint-Anders Parish and a hero of the Battle of Summer Hill. The statue was sculpted by William Whitemoor and raised in 1881. It plays an iconic part in the TV show Small Town Crooks and its opening credits. History The memorial was first suggested by a young Wilmer Arkansas, who would become a well-known local lawyer, antiquarian and publisher on Old Adams Corner. An interested group of men met and on 6 July 1822; the first public meeting was called. Each member subscribed a silver coin of 12.5 thaler. On 5 October 1822, the Summer Hill Monument Association was established and the work of raising money was begun. In the spring of 1824, the association had purchased most of the slope of Summer Hill, but had not yet chosen a design. One hundred and fifty thalers were offered for the best design. About twenty plans were presented in response. Choice was soon narrowed down to two, a column and an obelisk. At the next meeting the estimated expenses for each were discussed; the majority voted that the obelisk designed by carver and builder Wilmer Concord would be used. 's statue in front of the obelisk, 2007]] On 16 May 1824, the cornerstone was laid by Charles Town Mayor and Monument Association director James Lawrence. Lawrence also delivered the oration. First lady Virginia van der Ecke performed the ceremony and conducted the services. The blocks of granite for the monument average two cubic yards each and were quarried by wedging. Construction was frequently halted as available funds were depleted. To bring the project to completion the Monument Association began to sell off acres of the battlefield as house lots in 1837, eventually preserving only the summit of Summer Hill as the monument grounds. Neighbors disgruntled with the construction eyesore were rumored to have plans to raise money to tear down the partially completed monument. Influential writers, editors and publishers Sarah Fina Snow and James T. Meads, together with, the readers of their People's Magazine, supplied funds essential to the monument's successful completion. On 22 June 1841, the capstone was laid, with the monument being dedicated on 16 May of the following year, again with a James Lawrence oration. In 1986 the site was purchased from the Monument Association by the Department of Culture, Tourism and Transportation. It was closed at the end of the 1990 and reopened on 4 July 2002, after completion of a renovation that included repairs, handicap accessibility improvements and new lighting that was switched on for the first time on 22 July of that year. Gallery File:Battle_of_Summer_Hill.jpg|Samuel D.C. Withalson, The Battle of Summer Hill (1897) File:Charles_Town_sailboats.jpg|Sailboats at Charles Town with the monument in the distance Category:Charles Town Category:Discovery Trail Category:Invasion of Brunant Category:Monuments